Kochi: Former Kerala Minister Antony Raju, MLA, of Left front and a court staff were today convicted for three years and four years in a case to help an Australian drug smuggler escape in a drug case of 1990.
The Judicial First Class Magistrate Court, Nedumangadu, convicted Raju, MLA, who was the lawyer of the convict, guilty in the nearly two-decades-old evidence tampering case.
Raja was given three years and a fine of Rs 10,000 for destroying evidence, three years for forging evidence and six months in conspiracy.All the sentences will run concurrently. The other convict was given four year jail term.
Raju moved the Supreme Court to quash the case in 2024, but the apex court rejected his appeal.
The verdict comes 19 years after the chargesheet was filed against Raju, who is currently a leader of the Janathipathya Kerala Congress, ally of the ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) in Keral
The crime happened in 1990 when Raju appeared for the Australian drug smuggler Andrew Salvatore who was found guilty in the case and was convicted by the trial court for ten years jail term.
Subsequently, Andrew challenged the case in the High Court of Kerala which acquitted the accused as the underwear of the convict was found to be out of size.
Andrew returned to Australia and committed a crime there landing in the Australian jail where he confessed to a fellow inmate about how the tampering of his inner wear helped him to escape from India. The fellow inmate informed Australian jail authorities who alerted Indian authorities.
This led to reopening of the case and further investigation found that Raju in connivance with a court staff tampered with the evidence that helped the accused to flee the country.
The accused were found guilty of charges such as breach of trust by government officials, conspiracy, tampering with evidence, destruction of evidence, fabrication of false evidence, misconduct by a public servant, and fabrication of a forged document. The charges are punishable by up to life imprisonment.
Raju was accused of tampering with Andrew’s underwear, which was seized as material evidence in the drugs case.
Salvadore was caught with narcotics hidden in a pocket of his underwear during frisking at the Thiruvananthapuram airport while on his way to Mumbai in April 1990. The personal belongings and articles seized by the police from him were then kept in the safe custody of the court of the Judicial Magistrate, Thiruvananthapuram.
